Twenty-Ninth Report - Progress in implementing Universal Credit

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 458 26 April 2024
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 36 items (5 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 35 of 36 classified)
Accepted 23
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 10
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-ninth report from Session 2023-24 · published 11 Jul 2025
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Clear

Recommendations & Conclusions

23 results
3 Recommendation Accepted
Publish Universal Credit non-claim rates and survey results of non-transferring legacy benefit claimants.
Recommendation
Many vulnerable people risk falling into financial hardship if the proportion of legacy benefit claimants not switching to Universal Credit remains at its current level. Around one in five households on Tax Credits who received a migration notice have not … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will publish Universal Credit non-claim rates by legacy benefit type, extending to wider types as migration progresses, and will monitor rates closely with remedial actions if needed. It also commits to publishing the results of the Tax Credit non-claim survey by year-end.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Set out how to monitor adequacy and effectiveness of in-house Universal Credit migration support.
Recommendation
The Department’s in-house support for claimants moving to Universal Credit has so far been limited, particularly face-to-face provision, and will need to improve as more vulnerable claimants move from its legacy benefits. The Department’s practical support for Tax Credit claimants … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of its in-house support for Universal Credit claimants by tracking claimant journeys, phone call volumes, face-to-face referrals, and introducing a Complex Case Coach role for oversight.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Accepted
Explain plans to review Help to Claim service and address unmet demand from vulnerable claimants.
Conclusion
The Department is reducing its grant funding for the external Help to Claim service at the same time as more claimants will need advice and support to move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. The ‘Help to Claim’ service, provided … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will comprehensively monitor the Help to Claim service through weekly, monthly, and quarterly meetings, board reviews, and mid- and end-of-year reports to ensure it meets demand, especially for vulnerable claimants.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Accepted
Explain how lessons from current migration programme will prepare for ESA claimant move.
Conclusion
With the move of Employment and Support Allowance claimants to Universal Credit now deferred to 2028, it will be vital for the Department to capture and act upon the learning from its current programme about how to migrate vulnerable claimants … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the need to be ready for the migration of ESA claimants by 2024-25, building on existing learnings by capturing the effectiveness of enhanced support journeys through monitoring, with initial findings expected in 2024.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
Committee took evidence on Department for Work and Pensions' Universal Credit implementation progress
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Work & Pensions (the Department) on progress in implementing Universal Credit (UC).1
Government Response Summary
The government states it has existing evaluation requirements from the Green and Magenta Books, has set up an Evaluation Task Force, published updated guidance on Treasury Approvals in April 2024, and will update the Magenta Book in 2025 to clarify evaluation guidance.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-one percent of Tax Credit households failed to migrate to Universal Credit
Conclusion
At December 2023, nearly all the migration notices that the Department had sent (99.5%) had gone to households in receipt of Tax Credits alone. Of the 148,700 cases closed, 31,500 households (21%) had not applied for UC and their legacy … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, committing to publishing quarterly statistics on non-claim rates for wider legacy benefit types as they migrate and to publishing results of a dedicated survey of Tax Credit non-claims by the end of the year.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Accepted
Department initially underestimated Universal Credit non-claim rate for Tax Credit claimants.
Conclusion
The Department told us that, before the migration started, it had no evidence to use to assess how many Tax Credit claimants would not transfer to UC. At the time, the public finances had been under challenge so it had … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, confirming it will publish quarterly statistics on non-claim rates, expand coverage to include wider legacy benefit types, closely monitor rates, and publish results of a dedicated survey on Tax Credit non-claims by the end of the year, with plans for remedial actions if needed.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Accepted
Department identifies multiple reasons for UC non-claims, including eligibility and small awards.
Conclusion
We asked the Department why so many people were not moving to UC. The Department said it had been doing research on this, including during the testing phase, and had changed how it did some things as a result – … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee, stating it will expand quarterly statistics to include non-claim rates for wider legacy benefit types, closely monitor these rates, develop remedial actions if issues arise, and publish the results of a dedicated survey by year-end.
HM Treasury
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18 Recommendation Accepted
Department does not fully understand why legacy benefit claimants fail to transfer to Universal Credit.
Recommendation
The Department does not fully understand why some people on legacy benefits do not transfer to UC.35 It told us that it drew some comfort about the non-claim rate from 28 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.11, 2.12, Figure 12 29 Qq … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states it has been implemented, noting the department currently publishes statistics on claim rates to Universal Credit, by legacy benefit type, on a quarterly basis which will start to include the non-claim rates for wider legacy benefit types. It will also publish the results of the dedicated survey of Tax Credit non-claims and associated learning, by the end of the year.
HM Treasury
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19 Recommendation Accepted
High Universal Credit non-claim rate causes significant income loss for vulnerable households.
Recommendation
Organisations who work with benefit claimants submitted written evidence raising concerns about the non-claim rate and the implications if people did not move to UC. Citizens Advice, for example, said that the non-claim rate was alarmingly high and the resulting … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states it has been implemented, noting the department currently publishes statistics on claim rates to Universal Credit, by legacy benefit type, on a quarterly basis which will start to include the non-claim rates for wider legacy benefit types. It will also publish the results of the dedicated survey of Tax Credit non-claims and associated learning, by the end of the year.
HM Treasury
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20 Recommendation Accepted
Department's UC migration support relies heavily on helplines, with minimal home visits provided.
Recommendation
The Department provides practical support for claimants moving from legacy benefits to UC through a variety of channels including online through the gov.uk website, via a free telephone helpline, and face-to-face at jobcentres and through its home visiting service. So … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states it has been implemented, noting that it has estimated the resource needed for enhanced support and will monitor the journey of claimants who are provided with this support, Complex Case Coach role has been introduced and the Move to Universal Credit Implementation Control Centre will oversee the monitoring.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Accepted
External organisations express concerns over inadequate DWP support for vulnerable Universal Credit migrants.
Conclusion
Organisations who work with benefit claimants have raised concerns about the sufficiency and effectiveness of the support provided by the Department to people moving from legacy benefits under the migration process.43 In written evidence, the National Association of Welfare Rights … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's concerns and states it has implemented enhanced support, including estimating resources, monitoring claimant journeys, introducing a Complex Case Coach role, and establishing a control centre to oversee the process and resourcing.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Accepted
Department plans enhanced support for vulnerable Universal Credit migrants, including home visits and reviews.
Conclusion
The Department expects to provide more support when it begins moving more vulnerable legacy benefit claimants to UC from April 2024. In September 2023, it began a phase of testing involving 2,000 households on Housing Benefit, Income Support, 36 Q … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing how it has estimated resources, will monitor the enhanced support journey for vulnerable claimants, introduced a Complex Case Coach role, and will oversee monitoring of the enhanced support journey.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Accepted
Department confident in UC migration support, expanding visiting officers to 56 by December 2024.
Conclusion
We asked the Department whether it was confident it could track people down and support them to continue to claim benefits, and how many more visiting officers it was planning to recruit. The Department said it was confident that it … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's point, stating it has estimated resources for enhanced support, will monitor claimant journeys and needs, and has introduced a Complex Case Coach role and a control centre to oversee support and detect resourcing concerns.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Accepted
Department projects increased uptake of independent "Help to Claim" service over next two years.
Conclusion
The ‘Help to Claim’ service has been a source of independent support and advice to people making a UC claim since April 2019. The Department funds Citizens Advice to support people to claim UC, either as a new claimant or … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation has been implemented, detailing existing comprehensive monitoring activities and ongoing work with Citizens Advice to ensure the Help to Claim service remains effective and can meet demand, especially for future claimant migrations.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Accepted
Department reduced annual "Help to Claim" funding and stopped face-to-face support since March 2022.
Conclusion
The Department is providing total funding of £192.4 million for the Help to Claim service from 2019–20 to 2025–26.54 It has been reducing annual funding – from £38 million in 2019–20 to £22 million in 2023–24 and £19 million per … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees with the implicit recommendation and confirms it already comprehensively monitors the Help to Claim service, working with Citizens Advice to ensure effective support. It is also considering the impact of upcoming migration changes to ensure appropriate support.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Accepted
Most Help to Claim support not provided by Citizens Advice or direct face-to-face services.
Conclusion
We asked the Department whether it had conducted an impact assessment of the removal of face-to-face support from the Help to Claim service. The Department said that it had looked at how people received support and found that the vast … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, detailing existing comprehensive monitoring activities of the Help to Claim service and expressing confidence in its current effectiveness, without committing to address the specific concern regarding the removal of face-to-face support or conducting an impact assessment of its removal.
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion Accepted
Department commits to supporting claimants through vital visiting teams, monitoring resource allocation.
Conclusion
We asked whether it was more cost-effective for the Department to expand its home- visiting service as opposed to putting extra resources into the Help to Claim service. The Department told us that it was committed to supporting claimants, particularly … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees with the implicit recommendation and confirms it already comprehensively monitors the Help to Claim service, working with Citizens Advice to ensure effective support. It is also considering the impact of upcoming migration changes to ensure appropriate support.
HM Treasury
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28 Conclusion Accepted
Organisations express concern over lost face-to-face Help to Claim support and inadequate advice resources.
Conclusion
In written evidence, organisations who work with benefit claimants raised concerns about the fact that the Help to Claim service no longer included face-to-face support. The National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers said that the Department had reduced support at … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, detailing existing comprehensive monitoring activities of the Help to Claim service and expressing confidence in its current effectiveness, without committing to address the specific concern regarding the loss of face-to-face support.
HM Treasury
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33 Conclusion Accepted
Government delayed moving income-related ESA claimants to Universal Credit until 2028 to save £1 billion.
Conclusion
In the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Government announced that it would delay the move of claimants on income-related ESA to UC until 2028 to save £1 billion.66 The Department told us that the economic circumstances at the time had been … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation, confirming a recent policy change to bring forward the migration of ESA claimants to 2024-25 instead of 2028. It states it has existing learnings and further plans to monitor the enhanced support journey for these claimants, with initial findings expected in 2024.
HM Treasury
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34 Conclusion Accepted
Delaying ESA migration costs 600,000 claimants £130 in monthly benefits until 2028.
Conclusion
The Department has estimated that 51% of ESA claimants, who are likely to include some of the more vulnerable claimants due to migrate to UC, would have been better off on UC by around £130 a month on average.69 In … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and acknowledges the need to bring forward the migration of the Employment and Support Allowance cohort from 2028 to 2024-25, citing a recent policy change to accelerate this process. The department will also monitor the effectiveness of enhanced support for ESA claimants moving to Universal Credit.
HM Treasury
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35 Conclusion Accepted
Voluntary ESA to UC migration risks losing transitional protection, impacting benefit savings estimates.
Conclusion
ESA claimants can move to UC voluntarily before 2028 but would not qualify for transitional protection should their UC entitlement be lower than their legacy benefit income.72 We asked whether it is possible for people to get a reliable estimate … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation, confirming a recent policy change to bring forward the migration of ESA claimants to 2024-25 instead of 2028. It states it has existing learnings and further plans to monitor the enhanced support journey for these claimants, with initial findings expected in 2024.
HM Treasury
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36 Conclusion Accepted
Government's delay in migrating ESA claimants to Universal Credit lacks a clear plan.
Conclusion
The Government’s decision to delay the move of ESA claimants to UC until 2028 means that the Department will not complete implementation of UC until at least six years later than it planned in 2018.75 The Department told us that … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to develop a plan, confirming a recent policy change to bring forward the migration of ESA claimants to 2024-25 instead of 2028. It states it has existing learnings and further plans to monitor the enhanced support journey for these claimants, with initial findings expected in 2024.
HM Treasury
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